sbdcsierra Chapter 120 Making Trouble
Chapter 120 Making Trouble
As Xu Damao spoke, he reached out to touch Li Xianglan's face.
Li Xianglan suddenly took a step back, looking at him warily: "Comrade Xu, please don't do this."
"Hey girl, what are you afraid of?"
Xu Damao chuckled and continued to lean forward, "As long as you follow me, you'll live a life of luxury and never have to suffer like this again. I'll give you three yuan a month and get you some food coupons, ensuring that you and the child can eat your fill and stay warm."
His words were like a pebble thrown into the calm lake of Li Xianglan's heart. Three yuan was an astronomical sum for her; with that money, her child could have enough to eat, and she could buy herself some new clothes. But she was also a little afraid; if the villagers found out, they would spit on her and kill her.
Xu Damao noticed her hesitation and pressed his advantage, saying, "Don't worry, sister, this is a secret between you, me, and me. Nobody else will know. I'll bring you money and food coupons next time I come."
As he spoke, he reached out to take Li Xianglan's hand.
Just then, the sound of a child crying came from the inner room. Li Xianglan seemed to wake up suddenly, and pushed Xu Damao away: "Comrade Xu, you should leave. I can't betray my man."
Xu Damao's face instantly darkened. He hadn't expected this woman to be so ungrateful, but he quickly put on a smile again: "Alright, little sister, I won't force you. Think it over carefully, and when you've made up your mind, come find me at the threshing ground."
After saying that, he put the fruit candy on the table and left dejectedly.
As he reached the door, he glanced back and saw Li Xianglan standing there, looking at him with a complicated expression.
Over the next few days, Xu Damao used the excuse of showing movies to visit Li Xianglan's house every day. Sometimes he would bring two steamed buns made from two kinds of flour, and sometimes he would bring a small bag of salt, constantly uttering sweet words to tempt Li Xianglan.
Li Xianglan's heart felt like it was being roasted over a fire. On one hand, she longed to give her children a better life; on the other hand, she couldn't get over the hurdle in her heart.
She felt a chill run down her spine when she thought of the dead man and the strange looks from the villagers.
Xu Damao saw her struggle and decided to give her a drastic measure. That night, he brought a small piece of pork and two pounds of flour to Li Xianglan's house. As soon as he entered, he put the things on the table, sighed, and said, "Sister, I'm asking you one last time, are you willing or not? If you're not, I'll never come again."
Looking at the pork and flour on the table, and then at the emaciated child in the inner room, tears streamed down Li Xianglan's face.
She gritted her teeth, as if making a decision, raised her head, and looked at Xu Damao with teary eyes: "Comrade Xu, I... I promise you. But you must keep your word and not mistreat me and the child."
Xu Damao's face immediately lit up with a smug smile. He hugged Li Xianglan tightly and said, "Don't worry, little sister, I definitely won't treat you badly."
The moonlight shone through the window and fell on the two of them, as if veiling this shady deal with a thin layer of secrecy.
Li Xianglan leaned against Xu Damao's chest, her face covered in tears. She didn't know whether her decision was right or wrong.
"Xianglan, I truly cherish you. I will visit you in Lijia Village more often in the future. Please leave the door open for me at night."
Even after achieving his goal, Xu Damao didn't forget to appease the woman.
"Um"
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Life goes on, the fight continues.
As time went on, Qin Huairu was trying to have a son, while the others were either consolidating their strength or licking their wounds and recuperating.
Not only the Yan family, but everyone in the entire courtyard at No. 95 knows that this matter is not over!
"Zhonghai, you can't go on like this. Da Mao is at home, and Cuilan is busy with everything and can't take care of everything. You have to get better as soon as possible and not delay your promotion to the eighth-level fitter. The exam is your opportunity."
Looking at Yi Zhonghai lying on the kang (a heated brick bed), the deaf old lady's face was full of sorrow.
Yi Zhonghai is recuperating at home and needs Gao Cuilan to take care of him, which means he has to reduce the care he gives to the deaf old lady. This is unacceptable to the old lady, and a solution must be found no matter what.
"Grandma, I have a niece from my maternal family. Why don't you have her come and help?"
When it comes to the problem of insufficient manpower, the first person Gao Cuilan thinks of is her distant niece from her maternal family, whose name is Gao Xiaofeng.
With one more person, there is one more source of strength. Gao Cuilan and Yi Zhonghai had already discussed having Gao Xiaofeng come over, and now was the perfect time to send a message to her.
"No need. It's almost harvest time, so Xiaofeng, please come back after the New Year. I'm recovering quite well."
Taking sick leave resulted in a deduction of wages, and the company had to pay the He family eighty yuan in compensation. The company also spent a considerable amount of money on recovering from its injuries. Recent expenses have been enormous, and Yi Zhonghai is truly distressed by the financial burden.
Seeing that the deaf old lady seemed hesitant to speak, Yi Zhonghai knew something was wrong inside. He gave Gao Cuilan a wink and sent his wife and Yi Damao out the door.
Yi Zhonghai was not disappointed. The deaf old lady looked at the gate and whispered some good news.
"To boost production, the steel rolling mill has an extra Grade 10 worker position at the end of the year. This is your opportunity, and I will speak to Director Yang on your behalf. Therefore, you must prepare in advance. At the latest, you will be back at the factory in October."
"No problem, I can walk around now, and I can go back to work in October without any issues."
The deaf old lady had done him a great favor, and Yi Zhonghai was deeply moved. He moved his body a bit and found that he could walk lightly without any problems.
It must be admitted that people's bodies are very resilient at this time. It takes 100 days to recover from a broken bone. Yi Zhonghai has a good physical foundation. Thanks to He Yuzhu's purchase of meat and eggs at the pigeon market, Yi Zhonghai was able to walk again in just one and a half months. It is estimated that he will be able to basically recover to normal in another month or so.
"Zhonghai, this kid went too far, which means he hates you. You need to be aware of that. This time, the higher-ups have given us a good policy, so you must seize it. Only when you're promoted to a higher position will you have a legitimate reason to deal with him."
Ever since Yi Zhonghai publicly stated his willingness to support the deaf old lady, the two have been bound together, sharing both glory and disgrace, and there's nothing between them that they can't talk about.
Actually, the deaf old lady had another question. She couldn't understand why Jia Dongjin harbored such hatred for Yi Zhonghai, and why He Yuzhu was also badly beaten. However, even Yi Zhonghai himself couldn't explain it. He had only seduced Qin Huairu once, and his words were very subtle, so it could be interpreted in any way. More than a year had passed, and Qin Huairu appeared normal on the surface, showing no signs of any problem.
Jia Dongjin was the electrician team leader, and his status was not much lower than that of an eighth-grade worker. Yi Zhonghai at the steel rolling mill could not do anything to Jia Dongjin, so he could only make trouble in the courtyard.
Upon learning that the deaf old lady had gone to Director Wang to sound her out, Yi Zhonghai felt relieved. He looked at the deaf old lady gratefully and nodded gently.
Having the determination and the idea to sort things out is enough. As for reasons and excuses, the two of them will always find them; no one is perfect.
"Before that, we can't just sit idly by, lest that kid cause trouble. Yi Damao seems interesting; there's something he can do. We might as well use him. He's Liu Hong's son, a born bad seed. Don't tell me you're reluctant to let him go. However, things must be done discreetly. We need to annoy that kid, but we can't expose our actions, and we can't provoke him."
Because of He Yuzhu, the deaf old lady had always disliked Yi Damao. If she could get rid of Yi Damao while causing trouble for the Jia family, it would be a win-win situation.
It was just a matter of a few words; the deaf old lady could say it without hesitation. Anyway, others would do the dirty and tiring work, and Yi Damao was just the price to pay.
"I'll talk to Cuilan about it tonight."
The saying goes, "An army is raised for a thousand days to be used in one moment." Yi Zhonghai could not have any objections. He adopted Yi Damao not only to fulfill his promise to Liu Hong, but also for this very moment.
Yi Zhonghai nodded. He was feeling too stifled recuperating at home and didn't want his opponents to have a moment of peace, so he had to find something to do.
That evening, Gao Cuilan received instructions. She racked her brains, thinking of ways to do it, and finally called her godson, Yi Damao.
"Grandma Gao, this isn't the season for this. Will this work?"
"We can't kill him. We can just harass him or scare him, or have someone beat him up. We can't hurt him, because that would alert the police."
Holding two yuan and a small bag of dried sweet potatoes, Yi Damao fell into deep thought.